Butternut Squash Nutrition Facts

The butternut squash nutrition facts along with its many health benefits, are both equally important areas that one must understand. Also put together, is a heart warming recipe that you will not want to miss out on making…

Butternut squash is from the gourd family, that also has within this nutritious family tree the cucumber clan along with pumpkin and melon. Surprisingly a lot of people think that butternut squash is a vegetable, when in fact it is a fruit, seeing that it contains seeds within its flesh. This orange tinged, sunset yellow fruit is a bulbous bottomed squash, that has a nutty flavor that turns sweet and butter-like in its softness when it is ripe. It is used in pastries and meal courses that uses its flavor to add to it a bit of sweetness or nuttiness, to give the dish more vibrancy in its taste. Coupled with meat dishes and those that are veggie-based, this fruit is a much-loved add-on to any meal ensemble.

The health benefits of this super food are taken into account where a lot of people are taking a liking to its unique and interesting flavor. Some people don’t fancy the idea of fruit being incorporated into a meal dish, where I for one have a pet peeve about those who mix fruit with full-blown meals. Some fruits have a way of turning a dish into something exquisite, while others just seem to turn people off; self included. Try out this fruit though with your meals because there is nothing fruity about its content, which is a misconception for those who don’t like to bring sweet flavored fruit into meals. It is all about how different tastes complement each other and if the feel of it all works as one.

Butternut squash besides being a favored ingredient among those who’ve come to love it, is budding with health benefits that anyone would want to seek aid from. It is a great source of fiber, making it a healthy choice of food for those who want to curb away from heart related problems. Due to the presence of carotenoids, heart disease is as good as avoided in the future, by making it a habit to eat this fruit on a regular basis. It has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help those with problems like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. It helps fight against breast cancer and is a good source of vitamin C and A. Immunity is strengthened and bone health is kept in check, without having to worry about macular degeneration and defects like spina bifida.

Butternut Squash Nutrition Info

Butternut squash can be cooked in a varied number of ways, using methods that are convenient for you. We look into the nutritional information of both raw and baked butternut squash, in the following table.

Recipe Using Butternut Squash

Cooking a dish with this fruit is a piece of cake when it comes to including this fruit in meal preparations. The next time you put a family meal together, or decide to call guests home for a warm summery lunch – prepare a dish that has butternut squash in it, to give your guests’ senses a real treat. Make sure its ripe to make the most of its melt-in-your-mouth softness and sweet flavor.

Creamy Prawn Gravy with Ginger Flavored Butternut Squash

What You’ll Need

• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of butternut squash (chunks)
• 2 cups of medium-sized shrimp
• 1 large red onion (sliced roughly)
• 1 medium-sized ginger (julienned)
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup of non-fat cream
• Juice from a single large lemon
• 2 tablespoons of chopped flat parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• ½ a teaspoon of black pepper (powdered)
• 1 tablespoons of butter (non-fat/unsalted)
• 1 tablespoon of sesame seed oil
• ½ cup of Parmesan cheese

Method of Preparation

Marinate your shrimp the previous night, using the lemon juice, crushed garlic and pepper – shaking it about furiously in an airtight pack. Keep this in the refrigerator and leave it overnight. The next day, leave it an hour outside prior to when you begin cooking. While that comes up to room temperature, take a deep shallow non stick dish and wait for it to heat up before adding anything into it. First drop into this a tablespoon of butter and the sesame seed oil and wait for it to slightly heat up. Toss your ginger into the buttery oily mix and wait for 15 seconds before adding your onions, to infuse the butter and oil with the ginger flavor. Then add in your roughly sliced onions, and wait for them to turn slightly brown.

Then add in your butternut chunks, turning them about gently before pouring into this half a cup of cream. Let it bubble away on a medium low flame for about 10 minutes; check to see if they’ve softened slightly before dunking into this your shrimp and the rest of the cream, pepper and paprika. Cover the dish and let the contents further cook for another 10 minutes. Plate your meal, and eat this with either plain white rice, or pita bread. Garnish with parsley, and shower with Parmesan cheese.

Control how much of this fruit you eat, because it contains high traces of sodium which isn’t safe for your system; moderation is key here. Have a healthy tomorrow.